The difference between day and night is that during night time, you could hear even the echoes of a falling pin. Eren hoped that the child would be an angel and not wake up bawling in the middle of the night. But looking back to the events of the tiresome day they'd just endured, Eren had second thoughts about the innocence of the child.
"I've never heard of a child sleeping through the night" he thought. He turned over to the slumbering kid who was napping soundly.
'Here I am" he wondered to himself "the only titan shifter willing to help humanity… taking care of a baby." He Huffed. He had nothing to do right now but to count the remaining hours (or minutes) he had before the baby would wake and he'd be in a mess all over again
'Damn you Mikasa'
Just as he thought those words, the mentioned person tiptoed through Eren's door carefully
"What the hell?" he whispered loudly, sitting up "I thought I locked that"
Mikasa shrugged her shoulders and Eren frowned at her knowing she used her strength to break the lock. What wondered him is how she managed to do that without making a sound
"There's no point in locking it" Mikasa whispered "if people here Armin Jr crying, they'll find us out without opening the door"
"Yeah, yeah" Eren replied quietly "What're you doing here, anyway?"
"I came to check on the baby"
"What?" Eren looked out of the window. The chilly weather caused frost to form on the corners of the glass, and the sky was a greyish-blue, indicating the sun had just risen.
"It's like, five in the morning" he said facing her
"Ah, well I couldn't sleep" Mikasa shrugged "So I came to check on the infant" she said as she headed over to Eren's bed, peering over at the sleeping child
Eren felt his cheeks go red as he couldn't sleep either. Mikasa was also avoiding eye contact.
"I'm glad you didn't crush him in your sleep" she spoke "You turn a lot in bed"
"Yeah" he agreed. Only he hadn't slept. "What if he wakes up?"
"Huh?" she asked, looking up in confusion
"What? You didn't know babies don't sleep through the night? I mean he's too young" Eren shrugged
"So what if he wakes up?"
"He'll wake up crying!"
Mikasa stared down and her eyes widened.
"Let's just be glad he hasn't awoken yet" she mumbled
"Yeah, yeah. Do you know anything about children?"
"No. how would I know anything?"
Eren shrugged his shoulders
"Maybe you would have been a good mother" he implied
Mikasa looked up at him in her eyes widening in confusion
"If titans didn't exist, I mean" Eren clarified quickly
"This is a fun part time" he continued "It's nice to take a break from killing things" he huffed leaning back on his bed, his arms supporting his head.
"You're right" she agreed
"I mean, it's not fun"
"You just said it is"
"It's tiring" he wheezed
Mikasa laid her head on his bed, leaning on her arms. She stared at Eren for abit, who was massaging the bridge of his nose. She smiled to herself and her smile slowly faded
"You know when I was younger" she spoke hesitantly "my mother, she was pregnant. She used to tell me stuff about kids so that's just about where I got the little info I have."
Eren listened attentively, and then he paused for a bit
"Is that why my father kept checking up on your family?" he finally asked
"Yep" she sighed "It doesn't bother me anymore, you know. It's fate. I had no decision against it"
"Fate's cruel" Eren mumbled
"No it isn't" she spoke, pulling her muffler up to her mouth "If what happened didn't happen… then I wouldn't have this muffler wrapped around me"
"It's a stupid scarf" Eren shrugged
"It means a lot to me" she mumbled
Eren sat up and faced her directly
"Please explain to me how. Do you have a scarf fetish?"
"n-no" she stuttered shyly "It's-"
Suddenly, the door was busted open, and Moblit was yelling. Luckily, he didn't pay attention to them, he just shouted to them the orders
"Quickly, escort yourselves downstairs, it's an emergency. Don't forget to equip your 3DMG"
Eren and Mikasa were in an awkward position, they looked left and right.
"Er…" Eren spoke
"Whatever, I don't care what you were doing, just hurry up!" Moblit announced hurriedly, before running to the next room
"What happened?" Mikasa asked, unaffected by the situation
Moblit had already disappeared, running through the halls, so he hadn't heard her
"You heard the man" Eren said to her
Mikasa was still in her skimpy pyjamas, but luckily Eren hadn't noticed. She stood, and was about to jog to her room when she turned
"What about the b-a-b-y?" she asked
Eren paused and Mikasa stared at him
"We carry him with us" Eren decided, looking over to the child who still (miraculously) sleeping
Mikasa securely fastened the final bits of her 3DMG, and picked up her cloak, clipping it around her. Her stomach was twisting and turning, and she felt like something was stuck in her throat as she hoped she wouldn't hear the sounds of a crying baby. She had asked Eren to wake it without making it cry, Eren wasn't completely fascinated by the whole idea, but he agreed anyway. It made Mikasa smile knowing Eren has matured.
"Is everything clear?" Moblit asked, checking his fastenings
Mikasa turned and forgot about the mission. It looked like everyone knew what they were doing, so she decided she'll just tag along.
"Where's the brat?" Levi asked, appearing "What's taking him so long?"
"He could be asleep!" Mikasa protested "I'll go check" she offered
Sasha and jean exchanged glances but Mikasa ignored them
"Um, wait, Mikasa" Armin interrupted "I'll do it" he offered promisingly
Mikasa gave Armin a glance, she least expected this. Armin didn't know about his mini version, and he'll be as shocked as everyone else. In fact, Mikasa wasn't planning to tell anyone about the child; it wasn't prepared that Eren ended up knowing. But she couldn't do all the work alone, and Eren was 'indebted' to the child.
She couldn't argue, she felt something was going around between the trainees, she didn't know what.
"Okay" was all she could say.
She just hoped that Eren jumped out the window or something.
Armin awkwardly walked down the stairs, his expression still.
Mikasa gulped. She looked behind him, she didn't spot Eren.
"What the heck is taking you lot so long? Didn't you hear? Titans are rushing in as we speak! Where the hell is that brat?"
Armin noticed they'd already sent a group of soldiers; they had no time to waste.
Finally, Eren appeared, walking stiffly. Mikasa was searching through him with her eyes, trying to figure it out when Levi's fist came into eye shot.
He swung straight at Eren; he did it like it wasn't anything.
Mikasa scowled at him
"What have you been doing taking so long? Fixing your hair?"
"Um, no, sir I was, um" Eren stuttered rubbing his now bruised cheek
"Save it, we've gotta go. Hange has already left with a squad. We have to catch on"
With that, Levi turned around, Armin walking behind him. Eren rushed along as well.
"What happened?" Mikasa asked
"Tens of people died, that's what! I can't believe you got me into this mess. Is the child really worthwhile?"
Mikasa looked away, meditating it
"I have no responsibilities. I'll take care of it alone if you want" she finally said
"You're one of the most elite soldiers there are! What do you mean you don't have responsibilities?"
"What are you trying to say?"
"We'll take care of it together" Eren grunted "I've already decided. I just hope the people who died due to our slacking will forgive us"
Mikasa smiled lightly, and was about to speak when Levi interrupted her.
"Alright, get on your horses. We'll inspect wall rose from the north-west"
Mikasa jumped on her horse and Eren jogged to his. She noticed his horse was placed far in the centre, just as she had feared.
"I guess we'll be splitting into squads?" Mikasa assumed
"Yeah" Levi replied "You'll lead with a squad to the north east."
"Wouldn't it be better if I just joined Eren's squad to help protect him?" she interrupted
"No. I need at least one elite in a single squad, and since we had to shoo Moblit, Mike and Hange off to the squad heading south-west, there's only us left."
Eren gave her a sort of reassuring look, or more of a 'leave me be, I've got everything under control' look to keep her quiet. But she wasn't comforted, she had doubts. Still, if she believed Eren matured then maybe she could trust him in such situation.
She turned and decided to go with the flow. Her intuition didn't rest though.
Clop clop clop
The sound of the clopping horses on the firm ground was the only thing to be heard, excluding the soft sound of the swaying grass. The sun was gradually disappearing from view.
"Gah" Sasha stated shading her eyes with her hand "It's getting dark, do you think we should still continue the mission, Mikasa?"
"Oi!" jean commented "call her captain, she's leading this mission, you know"
Mikasa wasn't paying attention to their quarrelling, she was half asleep.
'I am tired' she thought to herself 'I haven't slept all night.'
"OI, Mikasa!" Sasha interrupted
"Yeah?" Mikasa snapped "What is it?"
"Could it be… you're slacking?" Sasha gaped
"No, I wouldn't be. What is it?"
"Jean says we continue. But I disagree"
"No one cares about your opinion, potato girl"
"Hey, don't call me that!"
"I say we go with jean's opinion" Mikasa stated, trying to sound as conscious as possible
'I'm so exhausted; my mind can't even concentrate in situations like this. Whatever they're rambling on about, jean should have the best opinions when leading. Hopefully I didn't agree on anything tiring'
"Hey jean" Mikasa suggested "Why don't you lead?"
"What?" jean asked, startled "I can't possibly be in lead"
"We all know you're suit for this job more than me. I may be fit for a lot of activities, but leading isn't my speciality"
"Hold on!" Sasha inquired "Captain Levi chose you for a reason, we can't just oppose on things as we wish! He might have seen variations we cease to-"
"He chose me simply because I'm elite" Mikasa commented
"But-"
"I'm the squad leader, and I say jean takes lead. Jean, swap places"
'Choosing a decision like this isn't like me, but it's the best choice I can make.' She thought to herself 'I wonder what Armin would have done. I just hope I didn't make a naïve decision that'll endanger the lives of my comrades like that time when Trost was breached.'
Jean rode his horse at the front alongside Sasha, and Mikasa was behind them, her head about to drop
"Oi" jean whispered to Sasha "Did you see Mikasa? The top she's wearing isn't hers. It's probably Eren's"
"How do you know?" Sasha asked, whispering back
"It's cut for males, you can tell by the design. And she looks sleepy."
Sasha's eyes widened
"And Eren… he was late…" she commented
"Let's not gossip. This whole topic bothers me" Jean grunted
Eventually, the sun had set completely, disappearing from view, leaving the sky pitch black. The temperature had also dropped significantly.
"Maybe I didn't keep the fact that it's winter in mind…" Jean thought aloud, shivering
"Y-yeah, way to-g-go Squad leader HORSE!" Sasha snapped trembling
"I would have considered that" Mikasa commented, who didn't seem to affected by the weather
Suddenly, Sasha stopped her horse and held her herself in her arms, shivering
"t-t-his mission h-has failed!" she exclaimed "i-its dark, c-cold, dangerously cold" she added, staring at her fingers "I c-can't f-feel my f-finger anymore!"
"Y-yeah, M-Mikasa. What do you we do now? I officially quit, you're in lead" Jean said
Mikasa stared down in guilt
'I've done it again. We'll all die from hypothermia because of my naïvetés.'
"We can't return" Mikasa stated "its official we've lost the formation. It doesn't matter where we go next; I think our top priority is at least finding other squad"
"All the squads are heading in or opposite direction!" Sasha exclaimed
"But we've turned a few times" jean commented "doesn't that imply that we've changed our route?"
"If we've changed directions that means we're either closer to the wall or another squad" Mikasa added "I say we continue south"
Sasha sighed and ordered her horse to move, followed by Jean and Mikasa.
"Let's hope it's the wall we're closer to" Sasha whimpered "I don't think you've forgotten that now the wall is breached we're in titan territory"
"Relax." Mikasa comforted "We still have our energy"
Still, they all hoped they'd encounter a fifty meter wall rather than a squad
"Do you think the squads got wiped out?" Sasha gasped
"Sasha shut up. You've been doing nothing but terrorize us for the last two hours" Jean retorted
'I haven't slept for two days' Mikasa thought 'I don't think I'll be able to keep this on for any longer'
"The sun's coming out!" Sasha whimpered "the titans will wake"
"The guns" Mikasa suddenly remembered shooting her head up
She fidgeted in the satchel belted on her horse and pulled out a flare gun
"Purple?" jean inquired
"Yes" she replied "It's the flare signalling for an emergency"
Mikasa covered her ear with one hand and pulled the trigger with the other.
She stared up at the mauve smoke dissolving in the sky before her view blurred
'Crap!'
'oi …d...be… Upid!'
'…..trying..!'
'…she…..ake..?'
Gallop gallo…
'No!'
'….'
'… …!'
'Mika…!'
'…'
A hard bang on the left part of my body and I was shocked into action. A gasp escaped my lips as I quickly lifted my head
"Huh?" she asks, jolting her head up.
She stares up and finds three stern eyes looking straight back at her
Eren moves his head towards her, and bangs his forehead against hers
"What in the world were you thinking?"
"I'm sorry" she apologised, though she was unaware of the situation, she felt she'd done something wrong
"This is unlike you. What happened?" jean asked, his eyes drifting to Eren
"What? Why are you demanding answers from me?" Eren shrugged
Jean moved towards Eren and held him up from his collar
"You better not be doing kinky things, Jaeger!" Jean scolded
Mikasa stood up, after examining her head. She lifted her eyebrow in confusion
"What the hell are you talking about?" Eren asked, swinging a fist at Jean
"I think that's enough" Mikasa intruded, breaking them up
"Mikasa, stay out of this! I think it's finally time me and jean settle things!"
"Enough" Mikasa ordered, lifting Eren on her shoulder, taking him out
"Hey, stop that!" Eren commanded, embarrassed
"Yeah, let Mikasa baby you, that's all you can do!" Jean called
"Come and fight me, you horse! I'll smash your ugly face" Eren yelled back
"Don't threaten me in such position!" Jean cackled
Mikasa finally arrived outside the hut they were in and threw Eren
"I thought I'd told you to stop doing that!" he yelled at her, rubbing the back of his head
"And I thought you'd matured" she replied "explain to me what happened"
"You fell asleep." He retorted "and jean and Sasha brought you here. Really, doing such thing is unlike you"
"I won't repeat that" she looked away embarrassed "But how… did you end up here?" Mikasa asked
"I was ordered to return. But there were titans"
"If you were ordered at night… you could have easily returned without encountering any"
"Yeah" Eren cackled
"You fell asleep, didn't you?" Mikasa suggested sternly
"Yeah"
"And you were scolding me two seconds ago about falling asleep"
"I hadn't had any sleep for two days, okay?"
"Oh" she sighed. There was a silent moment for a second when a worrying thought popped into Mikasa's head. She kneeled down near Eren, causing him to back suddenly
"Eren" she asked sincerely "Where's … Armin?"
Eren's eyes widened causing her heart to beat troublingly faster
a/n: sorry for taking ages, truth is I made a giant plot-hole and I spent days figuring out how i should close it. Anyway, here's chapter two, chapter three is already written out, i'll upload it in a few days!